Monday, May 23, 2011

She sits in the stroller for you?

As we headed out of preschool the other morning in my running clothes, another mom looked at me whimsically and said, "She sits in the stroller for you?" Yes, but with qualification...

At 2 years and 10 months, she has been riding in the jogger for 2 years and 9 1/2 months. Part of the success is that she knows no other, but part of the success is that she is getting something out of this as well.

1. Treats. There are some special "foods" that she only gets in the stroller - and only one a day at that. Things like fruit snacks or lollipops are a pick-one for the stroller ride treat.

2. Destinations. Though some rides are just a run for exercise, we often run to an errand or playground. This breaks up the run into shorter lengths plus it is something to look forward to (hint: save the special treat (see #1) to lure her back into the stroller to go home).

3. Planning & Choices. I almost always offer two equally acceptable choices for where we will run. At this point, she knows all the routes by name (Burke Lake, Stepping Stones, Two parks next to each other, etc.). Furthermore, as we drive around during the week, she will often say, "Let's go running there!" so we can plan that we will run there next time.

We are in this together. But this week she starts riding diaper-free so we'll see how that goes...

2 comments:

Mama 5150 said...

I run with my double jogger all the time and indeed, lolli pops are awesome!

fancy nancy said...

Oh I can't wait to see how diaperless running goes! That is one thing I thought of today when I was on a run with my daughter. I too run to the park or beach so it breaks up the run. I keep a "special" snack to make the run home bearable. Now the bathroom issue is another detail I'll have to figure out. Our park is next to the library so maybe we can do that. You'll have to let me know how it goes!!